This invention relates generally to the securing together against relative axial movement of two members in telescopic relation. The members are secured together by a spring ring which is received in cooperating grooves, an internal groove in the external member and an external groove in the internal member. In particular the invention relates to securing together the outer race of a constant velocity joint and part of a motor vehicle wheel bearing.
Various proposals have been made for securing together the outer race of a constant velocity joint and part of a motor vehicle wheel bearing. Attention is drawn to U.S. Pat. No. 6,022,275 issued Feb. 8th, 2000 to SKF Industrie S.p.A. and U.S. Pat. No. 6,193,419 issued Feb. 27th, 2001 to GKN Automotive AG. Reference is also made to the publication WO99/13232 in the name of GKN Automotive AG. In this latter publication a spring ring is used which has arms at its ends which extend outwardly and these arms are embraced by a holding element which can hold the ring in one of the grooves while the parts are assembled and then removed to allow the ring to engage both grooves. Access to the holding element may be through the hole in the vehicle suspension knuckle which is normally used for an ABS sensor.
The area around the exterior of the wheel bearing is very confined and there is little space to manipulate the holding element.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an arrangement in which, when securing together the outer race of a constant velocity joint and a wheel bearing by means of a spring ring, the spring ring can be operated upon from the wheel side of the assembly and can thus allow easy assembly and disassembly of the parts in situ on a vehicle.
Another object of the invention is the provision of a sealing ring to seal the splined connection between the hub and the outer race of the constant velocity joint to prevent the ingress of road dirt etc. into the splined connection and the internal and external grooves.
According to one aspect of the invention we provide a method of securing together, by means of a spring ring, an external member in telescopic relation with an internal member, wherein the external member has a first bore and an internal groove in the first bore, wherein the internal member has an external groove, a second bore and a slot extending radially of the second bore between an inner end open to the second bore and an outer end at the external surface of the internal member, the slot extending axially between said external groove and an end of the internal member, wherein the spring ring is engaged in said grooves to secure the members together and has, adjacent to its ends, arms which extend generally radially inwardly; the method comprising mounting the spring ring in the external groove so that the arms extend inwardly through said slot into the second bore, releasably holding the ring in a contracted state so that it lies substantially within said external groove by engaging said arms in the second bore with holding means, telescoping the members together while the arms are engaged with the holding means until the grooves in the members are mutually aligned and disengaging the holding means from said arms to release the ring so that the ring expands to engage in both of the mutually aligned grooves to secure the members together.
Preferably the external member is part of the outer race of a constant velocity joint and the internal member is part of a motor vehicle wheel bearing.
According to another aspect of the invention we provide an assembly of an outer race of a constant velocity joint and part of a motor vehicle wheel bearing, wherein the outer race has a first bore and an internal groove in the bore, the bearing part and the outer race being held in assembled position by a spring ring engaged in said groove and in an external groove of the bearing part which has a second bore with an open end, the ring having, adjacent its ends, arms which extend generally radially inwardly through a slot extending radially of the second bore between an inner end open to the second bore and an outer end at the external surface of the bearing part, the slot extending axially between said external groove and an end of the bearing part.
In this arrangement the inwardly projecting arms of the ring can be operated upon through the open end of the second bore and can be gripped so as to locate the ring wholly in the external groove on the wheel hub part or to allow the ring to expand so as to be located in both the internal and the external grooves.